Like most things that come out of Rutherford, near Maitland, he is scared of no man, and very few Queenslanders. Unlike James Maloney last year, he’d be all over Thaiday like Thaiday is all over a McFlurry from McDonald’s.

Debate about which players wear the sky blue this year has come later than usual, but Farah’s elbow injury has put it on the agenda very suddenly.

Farah has been the form hooker of the NRL this season, despite the sudden love affair with Parramatta’s Nathan Peats, and it was an encouraging sign for Blues fans.

Then the rugby league gods go and spoil it all by doing something stupid like delivering him an elbow injury with two lousy minutes remaining in a match against the Cowboys, on a wet Saturday night, in front of two men and a dog at Campbelltown.

Indeed, there are other questions that will be starting to keep Daley awake at night.

Jarryd Hayne at fullback or in the centres? Centre, please, after his performance for Australia during the World Cup. Put Josh Dugan in the No.1.

Hopefully Andrew Fifita can sign a contract somewhere, soon, and he can return to the form he displayed last year.

The key position, for a change, is not halfback. Mitchell Pearce - who was blunted by Farah’s selfishness in the decider - is the best option, whether you like it or not.

No, the big question is five-eighth. Or, in modern-day rugby league parlance, the bloke who defends at "left three". In other words, third in from the wing.

Last year, it was Maloney, and Thaiday trampled him.

Some believe Newcastle’s Jarrod Mullen - a solid defender - wouldn’t let that happen. Others prefer the Bulldogs’ Josh Reynolds, who could be lethal off the bench, but not the greatest of defenders, despite his aggression.

Todd Carney isn’t just having a bad hair day, but is also out of form, and can be a turnstile when big forwards single him out.

As Andrew Johns said last week, five-eighth is the most open position in the NSW line-up, and there is certainly a strong belief among those who matter that Bird is the right man for the job.

NSW have traditionally been strong when they have had a big, strong five-eighth, or at least one who defends like a forward. In recent times, they've had the worst three defending five-eighths in the comp: Jamie Soward, Carney and Maloney.

Meanwhile, Queensland’s dilemmas start and finish with how they fit the best halfback in the game - Manly’s Daly Cherry-Evans - into their side.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

20 comments so far

Soward at halfback and Bird at 5/8 = Brilliant kicking game complemented by a back line full of hard running and tough defence.

Commenter

Nathan

Location

Dogtown

Date and time

April 14, 2014, 6:44PM

I would overplay my hand as well if I looked left and right and saw Pearce and Maloney

Commenter

Franky

Location

Sydney

Date and time

April 15, 2014, 12:47PM

Sutton defends well and will not overplay his hand they should pick him at 6....pick Peats at Hooker and Dugan at fullback with Hayne on the wing.

Commenter

John Sutton at 6

Date and time

April 14, 2014, 6:49PM

Boy, where to begin? I'd better say up front that I'm a Qld and Souths supporter, but I hope that isn't clouding my judgement, or at least not too much.

One of the main reasons why NSW is 8-zip at the moment, apart from the obvious quality of the Qld team, is some appalling selection decisions, firstly in selecting players out of position, and secondly in excessive loyalty.

Greg Bird is one of the best loose forwards in the game, and would probably be the first back-rower I'd pick in an Australian team, notwithstanding the likes of Parker, Cordner etc (and if Bird got one tenth of the free press that SBW gets, he'd be getting the same plaudits as well; oh, and he plays for 80 minutes). So there is no valid reason for playing him at 5/8, especially when there are several quality players available (yes, including Sutton, but there are others).

As for misplaced loyalty by the selectors, I can't believe you've side-stepped the Pearce issue. He's now NSW's most-capped halfback, but has not taken a single game by the scruff of the neck, unlike any of the halfbacks whose record he has eclipsed. I'll go further than that: with a different halfback, NSW would have won at least one of the last two series.

NSW can either do yet another patch-up job on existing (and over-rated) players in the hope that they'll finally come good, or they can grasp the nettle and make several generational changes. I'm not saying that Adam Reynolds should be halfback, but I am saying that Pearce shouldn't be. For Daley to say, as long ago as last year, that Pearce should get a run again this year, shows that NSW has learned nothing in terms of selection errors.

Commenter

Lewis Winders

Location

Tasmania

Date and time

April 14, 2014, 11:25PM

mate,

I don't support qld or souths :) but I think the main reason qld have won the last 8 series can be summed up very easily, in no particular order. lockyer, smith, thurston, slater, cronk ,thaiday (now he has shed his silly third man tactic).

sorry if I have missed any other superstars but you get the idea :)

Commenter

concerned

Location

sydney

Date and time

April 15, 2014, 3:01PM

Very fine analysis Lewis, and coming from a Qlder! Totally agree about Pearce, that this bloke has played more Origins at halfback than Johns, Sterling and Mortimer just beggars belief. I can't believe Daley is backing him again because the bottom line is, we just aren't going to beat Qld with him at halfback. I'll take it one further than you're point about the last 2 series, if NSW had ANY other halfback in the comp playing in the decider last year, we'd have won the series. End of story.

Commenter

PBH

Location

Sydney

Date and time

April 15, 2014, 4:00PM

Saying Mullen is a "solid " defender is an understatement . He is the best defensive half in the comp and has the best kicking game of any Blues half , along with the best left to right pass in the game. Its time to give the boy another go. This talk of Reynolds and Maloney etc is and always has been a media beat up.

Commenter

Knight Vision

Date and time

April 15, 2014, 1:18AM

People don't realise how good Mullens is because for most of his career he's played behind an awful forward pack.

Commenter

Seano

Date and time

April 15, 2014, 9:01AM

MULLEN has a horrendous kicking game. Great passer but shouldn't touch the ball with this boot

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